India's FLFPR (Female Labour Force Participation Rate) was at its peak in 2005, at 33.87%, and has fallen to 24.67% in 2019 – the lowest among the G20 countries. In 2018, Saudi Arabia had the lowest FLFPR but they have steadily improved their position from 18.59% in 2005 to 24.73% in 2019 as against India declining from 33.87% in 2005 to 24.67% in 2019.
A key driver of labour force participation is workforce skilling – India's numbers here are dismal. Only 4.69% of India's overall workforce (male and female) are formally skilled, as compared to 52% in the United States, 68% in the United Kingdom, 75% in Germany, 80% in Japan, and 96% in South Korea.
Moreover, the types of skilling imparted are becoming increasingly important - new technologies and intelligent machines are making many current job roles redundant, and women's jobs are particularly vulnerable. We will not be able to protect jobs from automation, but we need to develop strategies at the national level to safeguard livelihoods by up-and re-skilling people in more relevant areas. We need to enable our employees to be more agile and re-skill them on new job roles.
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the corporate sector have taken several initiatives on the skilling front, but many remain underfunded and lack scale and focus. Initiatives by MSDE/ NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation) like the 'Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana', 'Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra' etc. or flagship CSR programmes of corporates like Hero MotoCorp's 'Happy Earth', 'Ride Safe India', 'Hamari Pari' and 'Educate to Empower' are commendable but not enough.
We need to look at skilling and vocational training both on contemporary and newer skills as a strategic lever. A skilled workforce will be an asset not only to the Indian corporate sector but will contribute to global GDP growth. Indian Corporates and the Government should work hand in hand to support skilling programs for the existing and new workforce.
We have leveraged both primary and secondary data, ranging from NSDC's government and corporate-funded skilling initiatives, their impact on employability, the effectiveness of the training eco-system and Corporate Social Responsibility's contribution towards enhancing Female Labor Force Participation Rates (FLFPR) in India. The findings of this report are thought-provoking and help us look deeper into India's dropping FLFPR and explore a few remedial measures.
This study is of national importance and is a step towards drawing out a concrete action plan to improve India's Female Labor Force Participation Rate (FLFPR). Vocational training has the scope to take the Indian economy and female labour force participation to the next level. The government, corporate, and society have an important role to play to make this happen.
Chandan Chowdhury is a Professor of Operations Management and Information Systems (Practice) at the Indian School of Business (ISB). He is also the Executive Director of the Munjal Institute for Global Manufacturing and the Punj-Lloyd Institute of Infrastructure Management at ISB.
Additionally, Professor Chowdhury serves as a Member of the Board of Governors at IIM Sambalpur and Lamrin Tech Skills University.
Before joining ISB, Professor Chowdhury worked in the corporate sector and was associated with three major multinational companies, where he held positions such as Managing Director and Country Manager. He served Dassault Systèmes for over five years, initially as Managing Director, India Geo, and subsequently as Vice President, Global Affairs.
During his last academic appointment, he was Professor, Dean (Academy), and Chairman of the Board of Research at IIM Mumbai (formerly known as NITIE- National Institute of Industrial Engineering, established as a joint initiative between the United Nations and the Government of India in 1963).
He is passionate about leveraging technology to make the world a better place. He served as an expert panel member at NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India, Government of India), helping to develop the Manufacturing India@2035 roadmap. He is also Chairman of the Technical Committee (Management and Productivity) at the Bureau of Indian Standards.
Professor Chowdhury is currently leading several research projects of national importance, such as ‘A Decade of Infrastructure Development in India: trends and Insights’, ‘Challenges and Opportunities for accelerating MSME’s growth’, ‘Making India a Skill Capital of the World,’ ‘India’s readiness for the 4th and the 5th Industrial revolution,’ and ‘Future of Jobs’.
He holds an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, and a PhD from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Budapest University of Technology and Economics.
He holds an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, and a PhD from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Budapest University of Technology and Economics.
